The excessive amounts of rain across New York State recently caused the Erie Canal to close between Baldwinsville and Rochester.
Water levels were dangerously high and the NYS Canal Corporation decided on the closure.
The closure resulted in numerous boats in water to stop and tie up at the ports they were at.
Earlier in the year a spillway wall collapsed in Macedon near lock 29 which made it so only boats with a draft of five feet or less can travel that part of the canal. Though crews are working to fix it, it could still take weeks to finish.
Dangers of bad weather could cause logs or trees to end up in the canal, damaging boats, or moving of navigational markers.
Shane Mahar, a spokesperson for the Canal Corporation, said that the bad weather is not helping the progress of the repairs on the spillway wall, and if it continues could cause maintenance to take longer.
As changes in travel occur quickly, be sure to check the Canal Corp.’s Twitter for the latest updates.
Boaters should use caution when traversing the Genesee River Crossing due to strong currents and floating debris in the Genesee River. Some buoys (Aids to Navigation) may be off station.
Crews have been notified and are working to relocate the buoys.
— NYS Canal Corp. (@NYSCanalCorp) July 22, 2021
A chart showing the affected area can be found at https://t.co/oZzIvGNRWT andhttps://t.co/3YDhbJ6lJg
Features along the western portion of the Erie Canal are listed by mileage at https://t.co/aR79J6R1QU— NYS Canal Corp. (@NYSCanalCorp) July 22, 2021
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